Tanzania Rice Production to Rise 9% in 2023-24, USDA Says
March 24 2023 - 10:23AM
Dow Jones News
By George Mwangi
Special to Dow Jones Newswires
Tanzania's rice production is forecast to rise by 9% in the
marketing year beginning May through April 2024, the U.S.
Agriculture Department said late Tuesday.
Production is estimated to rise to 2.4 million metric tons, the
USDA said in its annual Tanzania grain and feed report.
The increase in 2023-24 is attributed to a rise of harvested
area due to more farmers joining new rice irrigation schemes, it
said.
However, the yields won't exceed the 2021-22 harvest due to high
fertilizer prices, it said.
In 2022-23, rice production is estimated to decline by 15% to
2.2 million tons compared with the prior year due to dry weather
and low input application because of the removal of fertilizer
price ceilings in mid-2021, it said.
Rice production in Tanzania is mostly rain-fed and irrigation
systems largely consist of channeling rainwater to rice fields,
making them vulnerable to low rainfall, the report said.
In 2023-24, rice imports are forecast to decrease slightly to
180,000 tons from 200,000 tons as increases in domestic production
account for a larger share of Tanzania's available supply, the USDA
said.
Tanzania primarily imports rice from Pakistan, India, and
Thailand, it said.
Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2023 11:08 ET (15:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.